US Core inflation level lowest in 3 years

Yes because the price of oil - which is a market priced commodity has increased, primarily due to supply constraints and increased demand.

 

Well we don’t really import much and their costs increased slightly so tripling their profitability in two years is normal?

 

Either you do or you don’t understand oil prices are set worldwide as a commodity. It doesn’t matter where the oil is consumed. That’s the thing about market based pricing.

If worldwide oil prices increase, oil companies make more money and more profit. Period. It’s not like it’s a conscious choice. It just happens.

It’s obvious some of you are very vested in the idea that evil corporations are a cause of this inflation - it is ideologically appealing to you. But the truth is much more basic - supply and demand sets pricing, especially global commodities like oil. Corporations are neither evil nor good - they are generally amoral - and their primary motive is to maximize long term profits. For them to sell oil/gas etc at something less than market price oils be stupid and a failure of management.

PS - it is also not true that we don’t import oil. Much of what we use in cars etc is probably imported. I think much of the domestic oil produced here is a different grade and goes to industrial uses like plastics.

 

So the fact that we have like four companies that control all parts of the market and they collude to make maximum profit isn’t troubling. If we broke up the monopolies I would be willing to let the market forces play. But monopolies don’t have market forces. Saying that most of our oil is used to make plastics proves to me that you know nothing about oil.

 

Again, it is a worldwide market. Not just US oil companies. Also includes international oil companies like Aramco, Gasprom and Pemex, among others.

Since you are quoting eia then perhaps read about how oil prices are determined.

Oil prices and outlook - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Where our oil comes from - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

As to oil imports:

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ame...-meet-its-needs-so-why-do-we-import-crude?amp

The U.S does indeed produce enough oil to meet its own needs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 America produced 18.4 million barrels of oil per day and consumed 18.12 million. And yet that same report reveals that the U.S. imported 7.86 million barrels of oil per day last year.

You see, the U.S. does produce enough oil to meet its own needs, but it is the wrong type of oil.

Crude is graded according to two main metrics, weight and sweetness. The weight of oil defines how easy it is to refine, or break down into its usable component parts, such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel. Light crude is the easiest to handle, heavy is the most difficult, with intermediate obviously somewhere in between. The sweetness refers to the sulfur content of unrefined oil. The sweeter it is, the less sulfur it contains.

Most of the oil produced in the U.S. fields in Texas, Oklahoma, and elsewhere is light and sweet, compared to what comes from the Middle East and Russia. The problem is that for many years, imported oil met most of the U.S.’s energy needs, so a large percentage of the refining capacity here is geared towards dealing with oil that is heavier and less sweet than the kind produced here.

Why the U.S. Must Import and Export Oil

So it is true that even though we produce as much as we consume, will still import and export a substantial share depending on the specific uses of the oil and refining capabilities.

My understanding oil use and plastics was largely incorrect. So sue me.

 

We built our refineries to refine dirty oil. The fracked oil is much cleaner there are economics involved here.

 

Pay raises for the low wage earners do not ease the pain at the pump, the grocery store, with utility bills and rent. The low-wage earners are using high-interest credit cards to help.

 

Pay raises don't help low wage earners? LOL. Link?

 

The core inflation of our grocery bill actually has my wife investigating Wal-Mart prices …

 

Making more money doesn't help with rising prices? Does that make sense to you?

 

That's right because when poor people make more money, prices go up and the poor people are no better off. But when well off people make more money, that's just great for the economy.

 

What do you think a low-wage earner makes an hour? How much more per hour are they making to combat higher gas, grocery, utility, and rent prices? Is it $3 or 4? Even if it's $5, that is less than $200 a month after taxes, which could easily be canceled out by just the rent increase.

 

Here let me google that for you:

Workers in the 10th percentile, that is those making less than 90% of everyone else, saw real wages (or those adjusted for inflation) grow 9% between 2019 and 2022, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute. They earned $12.57 per hour in 2022, or $26,145 annually.

Pay for low-wage workers grew 'tremendously fast' in the last 3 years—but experts don't think it'll last

 

So five dollars an hour is close to 800 a month before taxes. So if you are poor, let’s call it 600 a month after taxes. Did you mistype or can you not do basic math?

 

They’ve all been answered. You just don’t like those answers because they force you to face the facts that Biden’s (and Trump’s for that matter) spending was a driving force in the mess that has been created and that we will be dealing with until at least the end of this decade.

Adding 1 1/2 years GDP in liquidity into a supply constrained economy? What could go wrong?

Now you know.

 

GDP did not drop by 1.5 years worth. Nice try though

 

Very well said!!